Over 500,000 displaced OFWs repatriated by gov’t, says DOLE

(FILE) January 2, 2021 HOMECOMING- OFWs who have finished their 14-day quarantine in the city troop to the NAIA Terminal 2 to catch a flight bound for their hometowns in Visayas and Mindanao. INQUIRER/ MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

MANILA, Philippines — The government has repatriated a total of 502,581 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who have been displaced by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said Sunday.

Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) head Hans Leo Cacdac said in his report to Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III that the latest batch consists of 1,471 OFWs who were sent home on Saturday.

A separate report from DOLE’s International Labor Affairs Bureau (ILAB) showed there are 645,071 OFWs affected by the pandemic, including 627,576 who were have been displaced from their jobs.

ILAB Director Alice Visperas said 49,698 displaced OFWs have requested repatriation while 75,297 opted to stay in foreign countries.

Meanwhile, ILAB records also showed an increasing number of OFWs who have contracted COVID-19.

As of April 4, the bureau has so far recorded 17,495 confirmed COVID-19 cases among OFWs, based on reports submitted by 40 Philippine Overseas Labor Offices across the globe. Of this figure, 10,155 have recovered and 938 have died.

Bello assured that the government will continue to provide assistance to OFWs affected by the pandemic. He said that so far, DOLE’s AKAP (Abot Kamay ang Pagtulong) assistance has extended P5.043 billion to 497,122 OFWs.

Aside from AKAP, DOLE also provides financial aid, food, and medical aid to COVID-19 positive OFWs. To date, the department has extended $1.93 million (P93.7 million) in cash assistance to 9,667 OFWs who had COVID-19. It added that another $2.6 million (P126 million) in medical and food aid has been extended to 124,945 overseas workers.

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